Scole Inn Hotel

We visited for Sunday lunch today having prebooked 4 meat eaters and a vegetarian requesting a nut /nutless roast. When we arrived, they had sold out of the nut roast and offered 2 vegetarian sausages in replacement-hardly what you expect from a pre booked request. However, we were meeting family to celebrate our engagement so accepted the replacement but did state that it shouldn’t still be £15.95. We found the family already seated. No one to direct or seat you and straight away, our gin which was requested without Ice was full of it! We had a young girl come over to the table and give us our order ticket to take to the carvery-this was also wrong having 2 vegetarians and 3 meat eaters….it was corrected and we lined up in a queue for the food. The queue was long and the young girl came over to say my vegetarian sausages were on the table. Half way through queuing, I decided to see the young girl to say that by the time I got my vegetables, the sausages would be cold. I also said about the gin and that I already was annoyed that my prebooked meal wasn’t available. She said she would take the sausages and gravy to keep warm but no apologies or replacing of the gin which was still full. Returning to the queue and getting to the front, the selection was minimal-a few roast potatoes having fun swimming in an inch and half of oil and barely any other veg. One of our party then asked if there were more accompliments coming out and the chef said I’ll go and check. He came back and said they will be out soon-so more waiting! Finally plates were made and we went back to eat, vegetarian sausages were cold and not cooked properly in middle although dark on outside-I imagine deep fried. Potatoes were the worse we had ever tasted. Parsnips were part boiled, not roasted and tasted earthy. We had been recommended this place but will not go back. Several people walked out while we were there! We felt sorry for the young girl who was left alone but was also untrained in customer relations. We should have at least had an apology and better service-this is down to the establishment themselves and not her fault. She was visibly upset and overwhelmed when people complained that they had waited 20mins and been ignored All in all, one of the worst dining experiences we have had

I called the hotel on 12-Jul-24, booking the night of 17-Jul-24, requesting a quiet room not facing the main road to minimise noise and maximise sleep. I arrived at the hotel at 7pm on 17-Jul-24 and was directed to the “Victoria Suite” on the first floor. This was not a suite, but a single room which faced the main road, and included an adjoining door leading to the next hotel room. I could hear every word spoken by the room occupants and clearly, they could hear me.. I was not informed of either issue prior to and during my arrival. Returning to the reception desk, I could not directly find the receptionist, who was serving behind the bar. The hotel does not have sufficient staff to operate efficiently. I requested a room as booked from the receptionist, which he could not provide, neither could the manager, the hotel apparently being full. The manager offered me my money back, suggesting that I leave to find another hotel, even though I was a new arrival in the area. He reluctantly agreed to call other local hotels, but they were all full. The manager stated that the hotel was Grade 1 listed, and the structure could not be changed. Adding a soundproofing panel to the adjoining door frame had clearly never been considered. I was forced to stay in a hotel room that was not as booked, under protest. I had to endure noise from my neighbours and broken sleep until I knocked on the adjoining wall and asked for quiet, which worked. Terrestrial TV programs were not available on the TV supplied, with a message on screen stating that the arial was not receiving a signal. TV apps could not be accessed. Background noise of loud music penetrated the room from downstairs (presumably the bar) until past 11.30 pm, which kept me awake. I arrived for breakfast at 8am on 18-Jul-24 and ordered a full English breakfast. I received my breakfast at 8.35am, during which time a couple arrived in the room after me, sat next to me, ordered and received their breakfast, and left just as mine arrived, after having to ask where my breakfast was. I have stated truthfully what happened during my stay and have informed the hotel accordingly, without response.

Cannot fault the this hotel experience, the staff are amazing, they treated us more like family than just guests. The hotel is full of history with modern facilities. The carvery was spot on as was the Breakfast Only wish we could have stayed for longer and I’m sure we will be back for a longer stay in the future. 10/10